'As simple as that': Portsmouth boss explains why he didn't sign ex-Premier League man after six months as triallist
The former West Brom and Crystal Palace man made four appearances for the Blues this summer
John Mousinho has explained why Pompey have decided against signing Nathan Ferguson after a six-month spell.
The defender had been training with the Blues since February after a once hugely-promising career was devastated by persistent injury.
Having been released by Crystal Palace at the end of his contract in June 2024, Ferguson was offered the opportunity to regain his fitness at Fratton Park and subsequently remained through pre-season.
The former West Brom man made four friendly appearances, including the visit to the Hawks, yet on Monday was informed the Blues would not be offering a deal.
And Mousinho has lifted the lid on the reasoning behind his decision over the 24-year-old.
Portsmouth boss: Everybody has managed to stay fit
He told The News: ‘It was one of those where we were always looking at Nathan as a potential signing depending on what happened in pre-season with players in his position.
‘Everybody has managed to stay fit and come through pre-season pretty well. It was as simple as that.
‘We spoke to Nathan about how the opportunities - in terms of minutes - were now going to go and we wanted him to see what he could explore elsewhere.
‘We didn’t publicise it heavily towards the back end of last year, but Nathan was training with us from about February onwards. He never missed a training day, was always fit and managed to get games in pre-season as well.
‘We have seen, particularly in the Reading game, how well he’s done. He showed glimpses throughout pre-season of what he is capable of so
‘To keep himself fit for that amount of time was really positive. To keep himself fit again in pre-season and then take that leap to playing games for the first time was really big for Nathan.
‘I believe the 45 minutes he played against Woking was his first football in about four years. To be able to do that - and he then did it against Farnborough the next day - was really pleasing for him.’
Last played competitively in December 2021
During his time at Fratton Park, his four friendly appearances consisted of outings against Woking, Farnborough, Reading and the Hawks.
He played at right-back in the latter two matches, although didn’t appear against Brighton Under-21s and was an unused substitute against PEC Zwolle last weekend.
‘He is a very, very good athlete and a really good kid’
Regardless of his decision, Mousinho is convinced Ferguson’s south-coast spell will stand the defender in good stead as he now attempts to find another club.
He added: ‘Nathan’s got that six months worth of training behind him, he’s had a full pre-season, and can now show footage to other clubs.
‘He can actually point to the evidence of the fact he has played. We can send training data, we can send physical data, which is all really good.
‘He is a very, very good athlete and a really good kid, so I think it will really help.’